It's Not the First Time
by scubysnak
Summary: ONESHOT. Sofia and Sara solve a serial killer case that hits close to home for Catherine. Eddie's killer is revealed. SofiaSara


**Disclaimer:** I don't own 'em...though I wish I did! And if I did...the fun I could have!!!

**A/N: This story was meant purely as fiction—as is everything that I write and post here. That's why it's called fanfiction. **

**As such, writers like me, take certain liberties with story lines and characters. **

**If you're looking for something that (1) sticks to the characters as they are personified on the show, (2) doesn't stray from the storylines provided by the show, or (3) is strictly rooted in science and forensics, you should find someone else's stories to read. **

**You'll find some of that in each of my stories, but never all of it.**

"What do you mean I can't speak with her? She's my daughter. You have to let me talk to her." Catherine was arguing with an officer that she didn't know in the hallway of the Phoenix Police Department.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Willows. She's being questioned by the investigating detective and the lead CSI on the case."

"Where's her lawyer? She has the right to counsel."

"Ms. Willows, I know you're upset, but your daughter is 21 years old. You have no legal right to be here and she has no legal rights to have you in that room with her. She refused to contact you. If it hadn't been for the CSI on the case, we wouldn't have even known how to contact you. How about you just sit down over there and wait on the detective to come out? I'm sure she can explain things better than I can."

Defeated, Catherine sank into one of the chairs in the hallway outside of the interrogation rooms. She had sat in on countless interviews and knew that her daughter must be frightened to be involved in a murder investigation. Lindsey would never hurt anyone. She couldn't. She just couldn't. There was obviously something that the police and the criminalists were missing in their investigation.

She was uncertain how much time had passed when the door to the room in front of her opened. She stood just as Lindsey was being led out of the room—in handcuffs.

"Lindsey!" Catherine said as she quickly moved toward her. "Sweetie, don't worry. I'll get you out of this."

Lindsey never spoke. She barely acknowledged her mother's presence. She stood there emotionless with a blank expression on her face as the officer pried her mother off of her.

"I want to speak to the lead detective on this case," Catherine said as she slung her purse over her shoulder.

"That would be me," said a familiar voice. "The FBI took over this case. I'm the Special Agent in Charge of this one. And I believe you know the CSI handling this as well," Sofia Curtis said as Sara Sidle joined them both in the hallway.

Catherine couldn't believe her eyes. She hadn't seen either Sara or Sofia in nearly five years. The two women had hastily left Las Vegas when the news of their affair circulated around the department. Their attraction to one another had been evident to everyone who knew them well. It was not well received by the sheriff, however, and they soon discovered that if they wanted to be together, they would have to work elsewhere. And they had done just that. Within weeks, both women had left their respective jobs and were basically never heard from again. Neither had been especially popular with their coworkers, so a clean break had been easy.

Catherine could only laugh at the irony of the situation. She had been one of the first to express her unease with the situation between the two women. She remembered very clearly telling the sheriff that every case the two of them would work together could be compromised and that it was ethically unsound for coworkers to date.

"Sara? Sofia? You're both working my daughter's case? I. CAN'T. BELIEVE. THIS. No wonder my daughter is sitting in jail right now. This is personal, isn't it? This is about Vegas, right?"

"Catherine, we both left Las Vegas a long time ago—and everything—and everyone—there. You weren't the only one who had a problem with us," Sofia started.

"But you were the only one who went to the Sheriff. But that's okay, 'cause we're both professionals. I mean, Sof here is a FBI agent now and heads up the local field office here in Phoenix. I'm the Assistant Lab Director and day shift supervisor. In some weird way, we have you to thank for all this. We're not out to get your daughter, Catherine."

"The evidence in this case is solid. And even without the evidence, Catherine, she confessed." This last bit of information that Sofia shared with her made her knees go weak.

Sara moved to her and grabbed by the elbow. "Sit down, Cath. We can't share many details with you. You know how this works."

"Why would she confess?" Catherine asked through her tears.

"Because she did it. She admits to it. The evidence supports it." Sara stated coldly.

"What exactly is she admitting to doing?"

"The FBI is involved in this, Catherine. You know this is big," Sofia said as she knelt down in front of Catherine. "There have been a string of homicides over the last eleven months on and around the campus of Arizona State."

"Lindsey's school." Catherine muttered.

"Yes, Lindsey's school. The victims were all either students or dating students at the university."

Sara picked up with Sofia had left off, "And all either had a record of domestic violence or a history of it. All murders were carried out the same way—gunshot to the abdomen."

"Just like Eddie? Surely that's a coincidence. It has to be a coincidence." Catherine's anger was evident. "Did you arrest her just because her father died like that?"

"That's actually why we started looking at her. One of the victims was dating her roommate--the last victim actually. When we started interviewing people who knew the vic, you can imagine our surprise when Lindsey Willows popped up as a name on our list to interview."

"Surprise as in shock? Or surprise as in let's pin these murders on Catherine's daughter?"

"This isn't Vegas. We don't have the second best lab in the country. But we do have a damn good lab. Justice is blind—even if prejudice isn't, Catherine. Your daughter is getting a fair shot here. But we found the gun in her room. It had her prints on it. We found GSR on some of her clothes."

Sofia could sense Sara's anger and stood up, causing Sara to do likewise. "She confessed. That's the bottom line here. If I were you, I'd find her a good lawyer. A good lawyer is going to be the difference between life and the needle for your kid, Cath." With that, Sofia turned and walked away.

Even Sara couldn't believe how cruel Sofia's last statement had been. She watched her partner disappear around a corner before turning back to Catherine.

"Cath, I know you still think I fucked up Eddie's case, but I need to tell you something. There's only ever been one time in my life I compromised a case—and it was Eddie's. And I did that for you—for you and Lindsey."

"What? Why … uh, what do you mean you did it for me and Lindsey? How could you intentionally botch a case and think that you were helping me out?"

"I processed the scene. I processed Lindsey. She did it, Catherine. She killed Eddie."

"You're wrong. She couldn't have done that. She wouldn't have done that. Why are you saying these things, Sara?"

"Because they're true. She had blood splatter on her clothes. The angle Eddie was shot at could have only happened if the shooter was shorter than him—way shorter. It was Lindsey. I couldn't let her go to jail then. I couldn't destroy what was left of your family. I never wanted to hurt you," Sara said as she reached out to touch Catherine. "I wish I could protect her again. But I can't…not this time. And no one—other than you, me and Lindsey—will ever know that this isn't the first time she's done this. It'll go easier for her if they don't know that she killed her father like this. Her attorney might even be able to use the unsolved murder of her father as part of her defense."

"What about Sofia? Doesn't she know?"

"Believe it or not, Cat, there are things I don't tell my wife." Sara gave Catherine's hand a gentle squeeze as she stood and walked away.


End file.
